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| AP |
Alexander Smirnov was presented by the Republicans as one of the most reliable informants of the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States (FBI), who offered a "highly credible" account of Joe Biden's public corruption and was part of the impeachment investigation of the Democratic president in the House of Representatives.
However, last month, the case changed dramatically.
Smirnov, 43, is accused of lying to the FBI, charged with inventing a story of bribery and espionage involving then-Vice President Biden and Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, and who told officials he has Russian intelligence contacts.
The informant told FBI agents that Biden and his son Hunter each received five million dollars from the Bursima company between 2015 and 2016.
Interviews and a review of public records conducted by The Associated Press suggest that this was probably not Smirnov's first time in what the government considers to be a confabulatory cycle.
They offer the image of a businessman who operated a series of shady ghost companies, collaborated with others that had been accused of fraud, and boasted of his own ties to the FBI.
The episode highlights not only the dangers of Republicans relying on unverified information in their attempt to confront Biden, but also the inherent risks of the FBI's use of informants, sometimes unreliable, who may have hidden motives.
"How is it that in the whole universe no one in the United States realized for years that this guy is a fraud and a liar? How did this get to Congress?" said Yossi Attia, a Los Angeles businessman who interacted with Smirnov and once ran a "penny stock company" - a company with low-priced, liquid, and capitalized shares - in which Smirnov had a substantial stake.
Republicans leading the impeachment investigation have dismissed the accusations of lies against Smirnov as irrelevant to their inquiry and raise doubts about the credibility of the FBI.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations, for its part, has never publicly stated that the information provided by him is verified or complete.
"The level of confidence I have in the FBI is zero," said Congressman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, in an interview with Fox News last week.